The Top 5 Serbian NBA Players of All Time
A list of the top 5 Serbian NBA players of all time, including basketball greats such as Vlade Divac, Peja Stojakovic, and Predrag Danilovic.
Predrag “Peja” Stojakovic
Predrag Stojaković (Serbian Cyrillic: Предраг Стојаковић, pronounced [prêdraːɡ stojanʲoʋit͡ɕ]; born June 9, 1977), nicknamed “Peja”, is a Serbian former professional basketball player He is a one-time NBA All-Star and three-time member of the NBA All-Rookie Team Stojaković was also one of only four non-American players to ever make more than 2,000 three-point field goals in his NBA Career
Listed at 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), he played both small forward and Power Forward positions during his playing career. He officially retired from Professional Basketball on November 26, 2014. After a stellar international career with Serbia’s youth national teams, Stojaković joined the senior team and played at the 1997 FIBA World Championship as a 20-year-old rookie. The next year, he was drafted into the National Basketball Association (NBA) by the Sacramento Kings with the 14th overall pick in the 1998 NBA draft making him only the second Serbian player to be drafted into the league (after Vlade Divac).
Vlade Divac
Vlade Divac is a Serbian professional basketball executive and former player. He is currently the vice president of the National Basketball Federation. He was also a member of the Yugoslav national team that won gold at the 1990 FIBA World Championship and silver at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea
Marko Jaric
Marko Aćimović (born October 2, 1978), better known by his nickname “The Machine”, is a Serbian former professional basketball player He played shooting guard and small forward positions. Standing at 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m), he played professionally in Serbia, Greece, Turkey, Russia, Italy, Spain and the NBA. He is most known for his successful spell with CSKA Moscow with whom he won the EuroLeague three times.
Aćimović was selected by the Los Angeles Clippers with the 54th overall pick in the 2000 NBA Draft He was later traded to the Memphis Grizzlies on draft night. In his rookie season in the NBA (2000–01), he averaged 5 points per game After two seasons with Memphis, he returned to Europe and continued his career overseas.
Nenad Krstic
Nenad Krstic is a Serbian professional basketball player who last played for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is also a member of the Serbian National Team Standing at 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m), he plays the center position.
Born in Serbia, Krstic started his professional career with Vojvodina Srbijo Novi Sad of the Yugoslav First League, where he played for two seasons. In 2002, he was selected by the New Jersey Nets with the 24th overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft Krstic spent four seasons with the Nets, including one season as their starting center. He averaged 10 points and five rebounds per game during his time with the Nets.
In 2006, Krstic was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder as part of a deal involving multiple players and draft picks He played two full seasons for Oklahoma City before being traded to the Boston Celtics in 2008. In 2010, Krstic signed a one-year deal with CSKA Moscow of Russia. He returned to the NBA in 2011 to play for the Celtics again.
Krstic has been a member of the Serbian National Team since 2002. He won a bronze medal with Serbia and Montenegro at EuroBasket 2003 and a gold medal at EuroBasket 2005. He also won silver medals at both the 2006 FIBA World Championship and 2016 Summer Olympics
Bogdan Bogdanovic
Bogdan Bogdanovic is a Serbian professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also represents the Serbian national team in international competition. Bogdanovic was drafted with the 27th overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft by the Phoenix Suns
Born in Sombor, Bogdanovic began playing professional basketball in his native Serbia for Partizan Belgrade in 2009. He played three seasons with Partizan, winning back-to-back Serbian League championships and Adriatic League championships in 2010 and 2011. In 2012, he was named the Adriatic League’s rising star Bogdanovic moved to Turkey prior to the 2012–13 season, signing with Fenerbahçe. With Fenerbahçe, he won a Turkish Cup championship and was named to the All-EuroLeague Second Team in 2014.
Bogdanovic made his Nba Debut for the Suns in 2014. He was traded to the Brooklyn Nets in 2016 and then to the Kings in 2017. With Sacramento, Bogdanovic has helped lead the team to playoff appearances in 2018 and 2019.
Internationally, Bogdanovic has won a gold medal at the 2014 FIBA World Cup and a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics both as a member of the Serbian National Team
